Gold-linedshipmentofballpythons from
Ghana (below) caught the attention of
Los Angeles customs inspectors, who
found 24-karat bars (bottom) sewn into
the bag that held them. In a previousship
ment, a similarbarwas found in the belly
of a reptile. The importerwas chargedwith
failure to declare the gold on his customs
form and with cruelty to animals in the
mannerof shipping.
these large-scale operations could number in
the thousands annually.
An exception to the CITES ban on
saltwater croc sales has been granted Papua
New Guinea. The project is seen as a possi
ble pilot. If crocs can be ranched, why not
leopards, tigers, or cheetahs?
The problem is one of identification. Who
can tell whether a saltwater crocodile skin
was raised or poached? Conservationists ar
gue that farming an endangered species cre
ates a market for it and encourages poaching
of the animals still running wild. Dealers
claim the demand will always be there and
might as well be accommodated legally. The
world's first green sea turtle farm brought
the argument to the courts.
CITES lists the green sea turtle as Appen
dix I but allows trade if it is born and raised
in captivity. Cayman Turtle Farm on Grand
Cayman in the Caribbean meets those re
quirements, said its manager, William
Johnson, as we walked past concrete tanks
filled flipper to flipper with turtles. Fed
high-protein pellets, they reach growth of
about 80 pounds within three years before
being butchered.
The farm markets the shells as jewelry
and wall hangings, the oil for cosmetics,
meat for steaks, fatty calipee for soup, and
flipper skin for leather goods.
In the farm's early days, Mr. Johnson
admitted, eggs were gathered in Suriname,
from beaches said to be doomed to erosion.
Now, he says, the entire stock comes from
the breeding females.
Oval submarines with shells four feet
across, they glide through the clear water of
the large breeding pool with a smooth flip
per motion that resembles flying. The larg
est weighs about 600 pounds. A sand beach
lines one side of the pool, so the females can
Wildlife tycoon, "Mr. Dang" of Bangkok
annually sells nearly a million dollars'
worth of pets from Asia. This rare albino
python could bring $20,000 in Germany,
Japan,or the United States,his major out
lets. A portabletelephone speeds sales, he
says, and jets reduce animal deaths.
"When we sent them by ship, we would lose
maybe half," he told the author.
National Geographic, March 1981
310